I would like to, in this Marian season of Christmas, give honor to and promote the great devotion of the most Holy Rosary (a favorite devotion of our patron Bl. Pier Giorgio). To do this I’m not going to be using my own words but the words of this guy…

Image from: http://www.catholictradition.org/Litanies/litany101.htm

St. Louis-Marie Grignon de Montfort. He lived in the late 1600’s and was one of the greatest advocates of the Rosary. You may have heard of him: he wrote, among others, the spiritual classic titled True Devotion to Mary. But I haven’t read that one (yet!) so the quotes I’ll be using come from his book The Secret of the Rosary (which I have read).

I’d actually like to start with the words of Our Lady herself to Bl. Alan de la Roche, which will probably make you want to drop everything and say your Rosary right now…

﻿﻿﻿“When you say your Rosary the Angels rejoice, the Blessed Trinity delights in it, my Son finds joy in it too and I myself am happier than you can possibly guess. After the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, there is nothing in the Church that I love as much as the Rosary.”﻿﻿﻿

I’ll be perfectly honest here, the first time I read that my heart just melted…

Image from: http://tomerfiliba.com/blog/dlang/

When St. Mechtilde was trying to think of a way to express her love of Our Blessed Mother better than she had before, Our Lady came to her in a vision saying…﻿“My daughter, I want you to know that no one can please me more than by saying the salutation which the Most Adorable Trinity sent to me and by which He raised me to the dignity of Mother of God. By the word Ave, I learned that in His infinite power God had preserved me from all sin and its attendant misery which the first woman had been subject to. The name Mary which means ‘lady of light’ shows that God has filled me with wisdom and light, like a shining star, to light up heaven and earth. The words full of grace remind me that the Holy Spirit has showered so many graces upon me that I am able to give these graces in abundance to those who ask for them through me as Mediatrix. When people say The Lord is with thee they renew the indescribable joy that was mine when the Eternal Word became incarnate in my womb. When you say to me blessed art thou among women I praise Almighty God’s divine mercy which lifted me to this exalted plane of happiness. And at the words blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus, the whole of heaven rejoices with me to see my Son Jesus Christ adored and glorified for having saved mankind.”﻿Can you imagine that? The “whole of heaven” rejoicing – simply as a result of us saying one Hail Mary. Just take a moment to reflect on that…“With this in mind put yourself in the presence of God and imagine that Almighty God and His Blessed Mother are watching you and that your guardian Angel is standing at your right hand, taking your Hail Mary’s, if they are well said, and using them like roses to make crowns for Jesus and Mary. But remember that at your left hand lurks the devil ready to pounce upon every Hail Mary that comes his way and to write it down in his deadly note-book. And be sure that he will snatch every single one of your Hail Mary’s that you have not said attentively, devoutly and with reverence.”﻿But don’t let that frighten you because it is only the willful distractions that can make a prayer badly said. As St. Louis puts it, “To be guilty of willful distractions during prayer would show a great lack of respect and reverence; it would make our Rosaries fruitless and would make us guilty of sin.….. How can we expect God to listen to us if we ourselves do not pay attention to what we are saying? How can we expect Him to be pleased if, while in the presence of His tremendous Majesty, we give in to distractions just as children run after butterflies?”So when it comes to saying your Rosary, just avoid being this guy…

Image from: http://www.illustrationsof.com

So keep in mind, “One single Hail Mary that is said properly is worth more than one hundred and fifty that are badly said.” And remember, “[Mary] would never let us honor her with love and respect without repaying us one hundred fold.” Not even Billy Mays (R.I.P.) could offer you that!

Image from: http://infomercialstar.com/contest.php

So take up your Rosary this Advent and allow Our Holy Mother to prepare you to receive Our King, (baby) Jesus Christ!

But for real though, I love this painting…

Image from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nativity_of_Jesus

PS – I could not fit all the quotes I wanted to share with you in just one blog, so look for part II soon with more from St. Louis-Marie de Montfort on the Rosary, how to recite it properly, and exhortations of perseverance in this great devotion.PPS – As Pier Giorgio asked of his friends, so I to you: “I beg you to pray for me a little, so that God may give me an iron will that does not bend and does not fail in His projects.”